ESSENTIAL GARDEN TOOLS
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The most talked about Hosta! Large, lush tropical looking foliage, learn more.
The most talked about Hosta! Large, lush tropical looking foliage, learn more.
The 10 Basic Garden Hand Tools for Every Gardener:A well made, high-quality gardening tool is a joy to garden with and reduces the amount of time and effort involved in performing gardening chores. When you’re ready to buy your garden tools purchase the highest quality tools that you can afford. Construction, materials and design are the three elements that make up a quality garden tool. If you purchase cheap tools, typically those brands found at box-stores, they will not last very long and you’ll end up spending more money replacing them than if you’d purchased high quality garden tools to begin with. Once you have acquired quality garden hand tools keep them sharp with proper care and attention.
Every gardener’s tool shed needs at least the 10 basic, quality garden tools listed below to garden.
- Garden Spade: A garden spade is your basic digging implement; use it to make holes and to dig sandy or loamy soil.
- Garden Fork: Garden forks are necessary for every perennial garden. Garden forks are perfect for digging soil that’s stodgy, such as clay, or full of stones; moving and spreading organic matter; and breaking down clods of soil.
- Garden Rake: Use a garden rake with short, parallel metal tines (teeth) - for final soil leveling, making a ‘tilth’ (a fine, even soil surface for sowing/planting into). A fan rake with a wide fan of springy wire or rubber tines is used for raking leaves and clippings off the lawn, and gravel paths. Every gardener needs a good rake for fall clean-up chores.
- Long Handle Hoe: An English long-handled hoe is ideal for cultivating soil and is designed to prevent dirt from building up on the blade while in use. Hoe are also ideal for weeding in and around large shrubs and vegetable beds.
- Garden Shovel: Every gardener needs a long-handled shovel for basic chores around the garden. Shovels are ideal for lifting and throwing gravel, compost, soil and sand. Shovels are also useful for digging up and transplanting large shrubs and small trees.
- Garden Hand Scoop: The garden scoop makes quick work of removing potting soil or compost from sacks without spilling. Garden scoops are also useful in kitchen herb gardens, planting container gardens and indoor gardens.
- Garden Hand Hoe: The hand hoe’s broad, thin blade is capable of light weeding, chopping and digging. Use a hand hoe in vegetable gardens, perennial gardens and large planters.
- Garden Hand Trowel: Garden trowels are perfect for weeding, planting small plants and tinkering with pots on the patio. Stainless steel garden hand trowels are best since they do not rust and the soil slips easily off of the tool. Burgon & Ball are the premier manufactures of stainless steel garden trowels since 1770.
- Hand Pruners: Felco are by the far the most popular garden pruners with gardeners worldwide and for good reason! Pruners are your basic tool for pruning, cutting back, and trimming stems 1.5cm to 2cm (0.6in to 0.8in) thick. There are two types of hand pruners: ‘bypass’ – where two sharp blades cross each other like scissors; and ‘anvil’ – where one sharp blade cuts on to a flattened base.
- Garden Hand Weeder: Use a weeding finger to remove material from smaller spaces, such as between cracks and crevices. Garden hand weeding tools are useful necessities in the garden that make keeping your garden weed free a joy. Garden hand weeders are also handy for cleaning between deck boards and paver crevices.